I sent the following email message to Bobby Henderson, but I should also
show it to you on the forum:

>The belief in an all-powerful universal being that is disproven by both
>a-priori logic and observation is of course illogical, but the belief in a god
>is only one of many of the fundamental falsehoods of theist religions. For
>example, there is also the belief in an opposing being, a devil, which leads
>opposition against the god. Far MORE grossly false than the belief in a
>devil itself, is the common theist belief that people that do not believe
>in the existence of, or do not believe to be serving, a god, are servants of
>a devil. The psychological motive of that libellous belief, which is also
>usually the motive of theism itself, is the fundamental desire to disrupt fine
>clarity of truth with crude blindness. As with the psychological desire to
>seek truth (which includes true curiosity and related emotions), the
>psychological desire to disrupt truth is the result of evolution in certain
>environments that selected for that fundamental intent. It facilitates justice
>to mock that gross disruption of truth. So, I have created a new character
>to go along with Flying Spaghetti Monster... ...The graphic contains a
>parody of the gross libel in the text below the picture: "All who serve not
>Flying Spaghetti Monster serve he." . Now, notice that I always say
>'Flying Spaghetti Monster', not 'the Flying Spaghetti Monster'. I
>recommend that you start doing so as well. That is a parody of how the
>theists usually use the common noun 'god' falsely as a capitalized proper
>noun, 'God', without the prefix 'a' or 'the'.

I originally conceived of the adversary of FSM as an eating fork with
arms, legs, and eyes, but that does not work because it does not make
sense for FSMists to eat spaghetti with the symbol of their adversary.
Also, the adversary TEMPTS people from FSM, so it should be some
kind of food. I have therefore created 'the ominous meatloaf', the picture
of which is at:
http://www.cotse.net/users/t3nj/FSM-t_o_m.gif

Perhaps a dessert would be more appropriate, tempting us from our Holy Meal, unless you see the significance in having the adversary made of a similar substance as His Holy Orbs of Protein...

We use the terminology "the Flying Spaghetti Monster" because it's a description, not His proper name (He is known by many names to many people); another example would be the Devil, who also goes by many names, or referring to the Trinity as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

I did not realize the similarity to the meatballs. I chose meatloaf because it already has
a bad reputation, and it's caricature looks funny. What unhealthy dessert food do you
recommend? There are many options. Whatever it is, it must be COMPLETELY
unhealthy (so certain types of pie, such as apple, pumpkin, berry, etc. can be ruled out),
and it must be at least somewhat disgusting, so that we will not hesitate much to call it
our adversary. Preferably it is high in both sugar and fat. ...Maybe some kind of
cheesecake or deluxe donut, or some oily and/or creamy cookie-like product.

"We use the terminology "the Flying Spaghetti Monster" because it's a description, not
His proper name (He is known by many names to many people); another example would
be the Devil, who also goes by many names,"
-The same is often said to be true of 'God'. 'The devil' is in fact usually spelled in
lowercase by hard-core christians. It is important that the absence of 'a' or 'the' before
the common noun 'god/God' be parodied, if for no other reason, just because it is so
absurd.

Personally I am against the creation of an AntiFSM... it goes against the main moral doctrine for getting into the FSM heaven "TRY and be a good person"... From what i understand, there is no FSM hell, just people who have to wash more dishes...

What most people do not realize is that with the FSM, or any god really, being both omnipotent AND benevolent or all-loving, the concept of a hell is a complete contradiction to the theosophy.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the effort, I just personally don't believe the idea of an anti-FSM will really catch on and be accepted. We practice tolerance above all else. Anybody who does not belief in the FSM... wel that's their choice, and they will do their share of dishes and cleaning up when the time comes, but they will still be doing it in heaven.

Funny... I saw the bright red READ THIS FIRST and though "Hmm... Maybe I should read this first before I make myself look like an idiot." So I read it first, introduced myself as it asked, THEN came into the forum and started making myslef look like an idiot.

And least I went through the process though

Is there any sort of special coding we can implement for new inductees so that it blocks off the rest of the forum until they introduce themselves?

No, the FAQ thread is not in large red letters that state START HERE;
the subforum that contains the FAQ thread and many other threads
is. Frequently asked questions are, in case you didn't know... frequently
asked questions. They are not a posting guideline, and any posting guidelines
should be titled as such.

statement #1: "We practice tolerance above all else."
statement #2: "Anybody who does not belief in the FSM... will do their
share of dishes and cleaning up when the time comes"

-So, which is it? Tolerant or intolerant?

So you are saying (based on the FAQ) that this religion is only about
mocking intelligent design and not abrahamic religion in general, which is
why other elements of the abrahamic religions are not parodied. If that is
true, then there would not even be a heaven or HellLight, or a distinct
pastafarian hierarchy, and certainly not a beer volcano and a stripper
factory in heaven. It doesn't add up. Regardless, the fact is that whoever
dictates the nature of this mock religion can do whatever they want,
justified or not.

"Is there any sort of special coding we can implement for new inductees so that it blocks
off the rest of the forum until they introduce themselves?"
-Whoa-oa. Fascist alert. I suppose that you also believe that a person can not
have advanced knowledge in a field unless they actually hold a degree? It's the
same mentality.

Really, this idea of an adversary itself requires some edyfication. Those IDolators need to turn back the pages of Paradise Lost and learn that the satan originally was doing the Almighty's work. He was not an adversary of the Almighty but of those who lacked faith. (For those missing my source here, you can look at Elain Pagels' The Origin of Satan.)

Pastafarianism could look back before the satan was turned by Christians into a figure to demonise their opponents, or Others. Such a dish would have to be, as the satan originally was, a figure who worked with the Deity to strengthen belief rather than to vilify Outsiders.

I would humbly therefore suggest that Edward Smith consider proclaiming Garlic Bread the agent of FSM's chosen way to help us see the light of Noodliness. A carbo like His Noodliness, garlic bread can sometimes aspire to take over all taste, but in effect it remains just an introduction to the real table that has been set before us.

"Fascist? A little extremist, don't you think? Nice go with the melodrama though!"
-Actually, fascism is based upon the same mentality, but stronger. It's a matter of degree.
What melodrama? Now who's exaggerating?

"Anyone
with the brains to read it would catch the idea that there is MUCH to learn about the faith as
grown here. We'll respect other faiths, as anyone who's actually READ the Heaven and Hell
section without an attitude the size of Ken Ham's ego would know. "
"We've been through the THREE THOUSAND N00BS, all with their version of the Same
(Lame) Ideas posting their pet theories and then screamingly defending them. "
"non-reading crackpot that comes in with the idea that
Chef Boyardee should be a saint, or that it would be cool to have a Pastafarian equivalent of
_______(fill in blank with Christian [specifically Catholic] concept, tradition or object) and
THEY think it should be ______. "
"Where the degree-holding statement came from, other than your own insecurities, I don't know."

-Ha Ha! Wow! Reeeal mature, Auntie Dee Dee. Are you going to call me a poo-poo head
next, ...in the usual convincing ambiguous way of course?

By the way, for anyone that doesn't know, Ken Ham is a christian fundamentalist.

"We don't have to parody every little bit of every religious tradition on the face of the planet."
-So you believe that a devil, and the major libellous belief that non-believers follow that
devil, is a 'little bit'? Yeah.

"If you do stay around, one way or the other... please learn to use the quote function."
-So you believe that if a person does not use a function, then they do not know how to
use it?

"You're doing your dead level best to NOT fit in here."
-So you believe that you personally represent the standard of comparison for fitting in?

Well, it's not like I've been given a reason to stay here.

"I would humbly therefore suggest that Edward Smith consider proclaiming Garlic Bread the
agent of FSM's chosen way to help us see the light of Noodliness. A carbo like His
Noodliness, garlic bread can sometimes aspire to take over all taste, but in effect it remains just
an introduction to the real table that has been set before us."
-No, I will not be promoting that because it does not allow us to parody the worst libel
committed by the christians, as a real adversary would.

Hmph. The FAQ is right, we don't need to parody everything about every other religion. We do that too much and soon enough we'll be JUST like every other religion out there. We don't want that, we want to be like US!In addition to its original purpose of fighting ID, FSMism has now set out to be an example of a tolerant, rational, and peace-loving religious community. Many of us here do not feel that the idea of a Devil or Hell for non-believers works with either our collective ideology or with this goal.Though if we were to parody a Devil, I'd vote for the Unholy Fruitcake. I don't know or care whether it's nutritious. NOBODY LIKES IT!! *Apologies if I offended a few nobodies out there..

If I have learnt anything, it is that life forms no logical patterns. It is haphazard and full of beauties which I try to catch as they fly by, for who knows whether any of them will ever return?Margot Fonteyn

By reading this post, you agree that you are solely responsible for your reaction to it. The poster takes no responsibility for any offense taken where none was meant. Except in cases of accidental microaggressions, in which case please explain it, so that we may better understand.

Davros, Attorney and Pieces of LawKeeping up appearances is a very important activity in religion; in fact, maintaining tattered illusions is its main activity. - Richard Wade, on Friendlyatheist.comWe make an idol of our fear and call it God. -Ingmar Bergman, The Seventh Seal